The Zest Warriors Mk. I
Hey Smogon, I'm ZestyArmadillo, and this is my first RMT. I haven't been battling for very long, and play almost exclusively NU. The team I'm presenting here is definitely my most successful so far. I've read quite a few RMT's, so hopefully I'm doing it right.
Team Building Process
I started off this team with a Life Orb Kangaskhan, a Pokemon I'd used in the past successfully. Next up was Swords Dance Sawsbuck, who could absorb pesky sleep moves and serve as a late-game cleaner. After this, I picked out Regirock as a physical tank and Stealth Rock setter. Regirock is, in my opinion, one of the best Pokemon in NU, with fantastic bulk, a solid moveset, and a great attack stat.
At this point, I noticed my massive Fighting weakness. I decided to go with some lesser used Pokemon to help patch this up. First up was Bulky Specs Beheeyem. If this thing gets an Analytic boost, almost nothing will appreciate taking it's hits. After that, I added Illumise. It looked decent on paper, with priority Thunder Waver and Encore, so I gave it a try. I rounded off the team by adding in a scarfer. I discovered Simipour, who had great Speed and Sp. Atk, along with near unresisted coverage.
This version of the team fared decently, but it was clear Illumise wasn't pulling it's weight. Even with max HP and Sp. Def, it's bulk was severely lacking, and sucked as a Wish passer. I also found that Beheeyem was too hard to bring in to be effective. I replaced Illumise with Specially Defensive Gardevoir, and Beheeyem with Specs Eelektross.
Thing were going pretty well with this edition, but I felt that I could use something bulkier then Gardevoir. Enter Musharna, who ran basically the same moveset, minus the Wish, but took hits far better. I was also unimpressed with Sawsbuck's lack of Speed, and bulk, so I brought in Coil Arbok, who had priority in Sucker Punch, and more defensive EV investments.
Calm Mind Musharna (And at one point Mr. Mime) was having it's way with this team, so I brought in one of the best counters. Skuntank is an amazing Psychic (and I guess Ghost) counter. With a little bit of prediction, the sinister skunk eliminates any Psychic that it's matched up against. To make room, I had to remove Arbok, who was deemed the least useful member of my team. After that, I decided I wanted raw power, and something to dismantle Alomomoongus. Specs Vital Spirit Magmar replaced Eelektross, as he did massive damage to almost any switch in, and blocked Spore.
There you have it, the team I currently use.
Musharna and Skuntank were subbed out for Misdreavus and Absol, respectively. These changes were thanks to some helpful raters.
At this point, I noticed my massive Fighting weakness. I decided to go with some lesser used Pokemon to help patch this up. First up was Bulky Specs Beheeyem. If this thing gets an Analytic boost, almost nothing will appreciate taking it's hits. After that, I added Illumise. It looked decent on paper, with priority Thunder Waver and Encore, so I gave it a try. I rounded off the team by adding in a scarfer. I discovered Simipour, who had great Speed and Sp. Atk, along with near unresisted coverage.
This version of the team fared decently, but it was clear Illumise wasn't pulling it's weight. Even with max HP and Sp. Def, it's bulk was severely lacking, and sucked as a Wish passer. I also found that Beheeyem was too hard to bring in to be effective. I replaced Illumise with Specially Defensive Gardevoir, and Beheeyem with Specs Eelektross.
Thing were going pretty well with this edition, but I felt that I could use something bulkier then Gardevoir. Enter Musharna, who ran basically the same moveset, minus the Wish, but took hits far better. I was also unimpressed with Sawsbuck's lack of Speed, and bulk, so I brought in Coil Arbok, who had priority in Sucker Punch, and more defensive EV investments.
Calm Mind Musharna (And at one point Mr. Mime) was having it's way with this team, so I brought in one of the best counters. Skuntank is an amazing Psychic (and I guess Ghost) counter. With a little bit of prediction, the sinister skunk eliminates any Psychic that it's matched up against. To make room, I had to remove Arbok, who was deemed the least useful member of my team. After that, I decided I wanted raw power, and something to dismantle Alomomoongus. Specs Vital Spirit Magmar replaced Eelektross, as he did massive damage to almost any switch in, and blocked Spore.
There you have it, the team I currently use.
Musharna and Skuntank were subbed out for Misdreavus and Absol, respectively. These changes were thanks to some helpful raters.
The Team
"Star Trek II"
Ability: Scrappy
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp. Atk)
EV's: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Hp
Moves:
Fake Out / Drain Punch / Sucker Punch / Double Edge
The first member of the team, and also my personal favourite, is the Mongolian kangaroo, Kangaskhan. I typically lead with this thing to start hitting hard right off the bat. Fake Out is excellent priority for picking off weakened threats, and lets me rack up status damage with the flinch effect. Drain Punch provides both coverage and recovery, which is crucial, as recoil shortens Kanga's lifespan considerably. Sucker Punch is another great move for coverage, and helps me beat faster threats after I take a hit. Double Edge is the final and most dangerous move on the set, hitting 180 BP with STAB, and dealing unholy damage to almost anything that wants to switch in. Scrappy allows me to spam my attacks, even with Ghosts around. EV's are typical for a physical attacker. Kanga also works well to pick off weakened threats with Fake Out + Sucker Punch.
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"Unsweetened"
Ability: Clear Body
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV's: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Moves:
Stealth Rock / Drain Punch / Ice Punch / Stone Edge
Next up is my tank and Stealth Rock setter, Regirock. Stealth Rocks, considered by many to be the best move in the game, are a great help to any team. Stone Edge is obligatory STAB, which seems to crit more often than it misses. Maybe I'm just lucky? Ice Punch is a great offensive move, hitting Grass and Ground types hard. Drain Punch, combined with Lefties, keeps my health high and gives me more coverage. Regirock also makes a good Cinccino check, taking less than half from Bullet Seed (barring CB sets, which I've never encountered) and KO'ing back with Drain Punch. EV's are for high bulk and power. In summary, Regirock can take almost any physical hit and strike back hard.
Ice Punch was originally Earthquake.
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"Bubbles"
Ability: Torrent
Item: Choice Scarf
Nature: Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
EV's: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Moves:
Hydro Pump / Surf / Hidden Power (Grass) / Ice Beam
My scarfer and primary revenge killer, Simipour. This monkey outspeeds and kills many common scarfers in NU, including Sawk and both forms of Rotom. Hydro Pump is a powerful STAB move, usually the one I fire off against targets with fairly high HP. Surf is there as a reliable way to kill frail and/or weakened Pokemon that I can't afford to miss. HP Grass deals with Water-types that would normally give me trouble, and takes a good chunk from the ever common Alomomola. Ice Beam is for taking out fliers and Grass-types, along with the occasional Dragon. The only real negative with Simipour is how frail it is, so it needs to be played carefully. It also ends up cleaning out a lot of opponents late-game, once priority is gone and everything is weakened.
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"Witchy & Scratchy"
Ability: Levitate
Item: Eviolite
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Sp. Atk
Moves:
Shadow Ball / Pain Split / Heal Bell / Will-O-Wisp
A Ghost-type is an excellent choice for patching a team's Fighting weakness. Misdreavus does a great job at this, as it possesses great bulk with Eviolite, and a solid support movepool. Shadow Ball is STAB that lets me hit switch-ins and keeps me from being Taunt bait. Pain Split is Missy's best option for a recovery move, which is a must for any defensive Poke lacking Lefties. Heal Bell is a great team support move, and helps Misdreavus in winning stall wars by preventing status damage from racking up. Will-o-Wisp rounds off the set, and is a great thing to hit any non-Guts user with, and can cripple physical attackers that try to break through. The EV's give Missy it's maximum physical bulk, while Eviolite lets it tank some special hits as well.
Previously was Musharna, thanks to FLCL for suggesting this to me.
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"Blue Oyster Cult"
Ability: Super Luck
Item: Lum Berry
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV's: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Moves:
Night Slash / Pursuit / Sucker Punch / Superpower
One of the most used Pokemon in NU, and for good reason. Absol serves to cause massive damage with it's powerful and near-unresisted coverage moves. Night Slash, the primary STAB move, has somewhat low BP, but performs well under Absol's mighty attack stat. Pursuit is used to take out fleeing Ghosts and Psychics. The third Dark move on this set, Sucker Punch, is tied for most powerful priority in NU, and lets me obliterate faster sweepers. Superpower is for murder the Rock and Steel types that would otherwise laugh at Absol. Lum Berry is used to beat Will-o-Wisp Gardevoir and other random statuses, and also because of the shortened lifespan that Life Orb brings. EV's and nature are self-explanatory.
Previously was Skuntank, thanks to WhiteDMist for suggesting this to me.
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"Studzilla"
Ability: Vital Spirit
Item: Choice Specs
Nature: Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
EV's: 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Moves:
Fire Blast / Psychic / Hidden Power (Grass) / Focus Blast
As far as flaming ducks go, Magmar is definitely one of the best. When Magmortar left for RU, we lost a great Alomomoonguss killer. Tired of being slept and stalled by the annoying mushroom, I decided to reach in to the bottom of the usage stats for Magmar, who's guaranteed OHKO on Amoonguss and sleep immunity have proved invaluable. If only it got Thunderbolt for those pesky sunfish. Fire Blast will leave a mark on anything neutral to it, and flat out kill most things weak to it. Psychic is another coverage move that Magmar gets, and lets me defeat predicted Emboar and Gurdurr switches. HP Grass hits any Water-types that try to switch in hard, although sometimes it's power is lacking. Focus Blast takes big chunks out of Rock and Normal types, and helps me muscle through Lickilicky. Choice Specs help me squeeze as much power as possible out of Magmar, EV's are standard for a choice user as well. Although I originally added it just to kill Amoonguss, I find that this first gen beauty usually nets me at least a kill per match, and dismantles most Grass-types.
Psychic was originally Overheat.
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Past Members
"Placenta"
Ability: Synchronize
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Calm (+Sp. Def, -Atk)
EV's: 252 HP / 252 Sp. Def / 4 Sp. Atk
Moves:
Psychic / Moonlight / Heal Bell / Toxic
Yeah, so apparently someone thought a dreaming fetus was a good concept. Aside from that, Musharna is an awesome Pokemon, capable of walling a lot of special attackers and then healing off the damage. Psychic is a basic STAB move that can net me a quick kill on weak Pokemon. Moonlight is a necessary healing move, letting Mushy last much longer, although weather can be annoying. Heal Bell is a tremendous support move, letting me remove crippling paralysis or burns from my attackers. Toxic is there for stall purposes, and it's always nice to get some residual damage on an enemy. The EV spread gives me maximum special bulk, and lets me live some neutral physical hits too. Synchronize is a surprisingly useful ability, I always find myself laughing when an Alomomola hits me with Toxic, just to get poisoned itself while I Heal Bell. Leftovers are the go-to item for defensive Pokemon, so nothing out of the ordinary there. Obviously this set is walled by Dark-types, but I usually manage to predict my way out of those situations.
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"Cabbage"
Ability: Aftermath
Item: Black Sludge
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -Sp. Atk)
EV's: 252 Atk / 220 Sp. Def / 36 Spd
Moves:
Taunt / Pursuit / Sucker Punch / Poison Jab
Skuntank has an awesome niche in the NU metagame, serving as a near-foolproof counter to Ghosts and Psychics, while also trapping other Pokemon it may be matched up with. Sucker Punch is great priority, and is great for killing weakened enemies with damaging Skuntank. Pursuit prevents Psychics from escaping the wrath of this skunk, and pairs nicely with Sucker Punch. Poison Jab is secondary STAB that lets me hit a lot of things neutrally, and has good chance of poisoning foes. Taunt stops various threats from setting up or healing, forcing them to guess whether or not I'll Pursuit or Sucker Punch. The EV's are the same ones suggested in the on-site analysis, with max attack, enough speed to Taunt defensive threats, and the rest in Sp. Def for some better bulk. Atermath is a nasty surprise for anything that wants to kill Skuntank with a contact move, mainly Cinccino.
So, there's my team. Obviously 70th on the ladder isn't much to boast about, but I'm looking to improve. I'd definitely love to hear your feedback, and your suggestions for improving the team. Thanks for reading!
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